Our Week in the Forest...

This week has seen the children become excited by minibeast exploration, incredible volcano experiments and the beginnings of designing our very own vegetable garden!

As the sun came out so too did some of the minibeasts and the children, fascinated, began to observe and care for the tiny creatures. We saw the usual worms, slugs, snails and woodlice but this time we also saw millipedes, centipedes, black beetles, ants and a range of different beetle lava. The children studied them closely, some choosing to use a magnifying glass for a closer look. We provided the children with books about minibeasts so that they could link their first hand experiences with information found in books. It was amazing to watch as 2 and 3 year old children were engrossed in mini fact books talking about the creatures that they had just seen.

This week we were inspired by one child’s interest in volcanoes. After some discussion with the children we decided to experiment with volcano eruptions! The child brought in the ingredients to create a miniature volcano so that we could test his ideas. First a group of children set about building a volcano mountain using wood chips. Then we set it in a bottle and used vinegar, baking powder and food colouring to create an eruption. The children were incredibly excited to see what happened. They talked about what they had observed and were incredibly eager to see more. We then tested an eruption using Mento's and Coca cola to see which ingredients had a more violent reaction. So excited by the experiment the children engaged in their own volcano role-plays and building projects and one even told her own magical volcano story!

With spring finally on its way we have decided to start a big project with the children. They are making their own vegetable garden from scratch! We have started to dig out an area for the main vegetable patch. The children loved using the spades and trowels to dig at the earth for a real purpose. The children helped move the turf to the sides using teamwork and a wheel barrow! As an added bonus and to the children’s great excitement we found hundreds of wiggly worms! Over the next couple of weeks we will be preparing the garden so that it is ready to seed.

Next week we are welcoming children into the forest for holiday camp sessions. We are super excited to meet them and we know that our seasoned Little Forest Folkers will show them the ropes and how to play in the forest.